Japanese e-commerce company Askul encountered a massive data breach affecting about 740,000 individuals' personal information. Upon detecting the violation, the company halted services temporarily and alerted authorities. The compromised data includes customers' names, addresses, contact information, and purchase histories. It's not clear yet if any financial data was breached. Investigations are currently underway by Askul and respective authorities.

The online privacy and data protection of consumers is taken very seriously in Japan. Such incidents often lead to public outcry and distrust towards the involved entity, pressurizing corporations to implement stricter security measures. The Personal Information Protection Act governs data protection in Japan, and enforcement agencies are proactive in addressing violations.

In the US or EU, similar incidents are also treated with gravity. They often lead to lawsuits, hefty fines, and decreases in the company's shares. EU's General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and the US' California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) are examples of stringent legal frameworks handling personal data protection.